Summoning Charm
by 0OolunaoO0
Summary: Luna Lovegood- working as a naturalist after finishing her schooling- and Rolf Scamander-an unwilling messenger- must hurry, because while Voldemort is indeed dead, there may be--well...I can't give away any more than that, now, can I?
1. Chapter 1

It was morning, and as an owl screeched somewhere outside of the tent, Luna slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. Yawning loudly, she glanced around the tent for her clothes, which tended to change positions daily. This was thanks to her pet niffler, Gerry, or Gerald Edward when misbehaving, which happened quite a lot. Gerry was a bit funny in the head, and often went after buttons, completely disregarding shiny things, which the average niffler had an intense fetish for. This peculiarity was the reason Luna had found him in the Knockturn Animal Center, where she had bravely ventured the previous year after resolutely deciding she required a companion during her long and frequent trips into forests around the world to study magical creatures. Spying her button-up sweater and jeans in a heap near the tent's flap door, Luna stumbled across the tent to retrieve them as Gerry honked loudly from her sleeping bag. The tent, flapping lazily, was frigid, and though it offered none of the luxuries found in a typical wizard's tent, Luna preferred it because she felt closer to the creatures she studied.

Slipping hurriedly into her clothes, Luna now made her way to the mouth of the tent, and dragged the zipper down the tent's green plastic flap. Gerry was at her heels as she stepped out into the morning.

If the tent had been cold, it was nothing to the temperature outside. However, Luna merely yawned once again and tugged at her sweater. She continued to light a small fire in a ring of rocks with a sleepy flick of her wand, and, her work done, scanned her surroundings interestedly.

Vividly green plants of diverse hues, shapes, and sizes surrounded the small clearing in which Luna's tent was pitched. Piercing bird calls echoed from every direction and insect orchestras performed with gusto. This particular excursion's purpose was to collect information about the Gytraste, a species which Luna had discovered previously that year. The Gytraste, which seemed to have common ancestors with the Gytrash, was an enormous hound that slunk through forests. Though it seemed as though these creatures would stick out like a sore thumb, Luna had had quite a difficult time catching the first one, as the Gytrastes had evidently acquired a trait that allowed them to become invisible at will, camouflaging them from naturalists. At the moment, Luna spotted none, and, finishing her inspection, she abandoned alertness and returned to the tent for her "Merlin's Instant Oatmeal".

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Rolf Scamander trudged through the tropical rainforest, swearing with abandon as he beat off exotic, waxy leaves that impeded his nonexistent path. Morning dew that had previously sat in peaceful tiny drops on the forest plants had found refuge in his T-shirt and jeans, and his sodden clothes now clung to him like a niffler to a new galleon.

_Who does Ollivander think he is?_ fumed Rolf, shaking his head like a dog, and watching water fly off as if his long dark hair was a sprinkler. _I don't _care_ if Grandpa Newt was his friend; I don't _care_ if he used to supply him with extra unicorn hairs or whatever the hell it was he did... Thinks he can just send me an owl and of _course_ I'll drop my observation of one of the most recently discovered magical creatures and track down some random girl sitting in the middle of South America looking for an invisible pig or whatever... One thing's for sure _he thought resolutely. _I don't give a thought who this bloody Lovegood girl is, and once I give her the message, I'll apparate to the camp right away._


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm really sorry, Ollivander," said the green ﬂaming head, which was

currently suspended in Ollivander's ﬁreplace, "but there's no way Bellatrix has the stone."

Ollivander sighed wearily. "Harry, please think about it- with all the publicity the Hallows received after you killed You-Know-Who-"

"Oh for god's sake, Ollivander, he's _dead_, you can say his name..."

"Alright, _Voldemort_...but really, with all that publicity, it's foolish to assume that no one decided to go check it out, a simple Summoning Charm would have drawn one of the most powerfully magical objects in the world straight into a Death Eater's hand. And it's not as if they've given up without... _Voldemort... _because they haven't. You know that Bellatrix woman, they're saying she's been rallying up followers, they claim she wants to avenge his death-"

"Bellatrix is dead," said Harry harshly. "It's over, Ollivander. Voldemort's dead, and so is she, I saw Molly Weasley kill her. And Ginny's on bed rest, she's due in the next week... I need to go."

At this moment, a small head with tufty jet-black hair popped into the ﬁre.

"Woah! Mr. Ollivander! Whatʼre you-"

"James, get out!" Harry glanced, slightly apologetic for his outburst, at Ollivander as James huffed loudly and removed his head from the emerald ﬂames.

"Look, Harry, you dropped the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest, did you not?"

"-yes, but no one's g-"

"-and it's no secret that Bellatrix Lestrange was in love with Voldemort, even though he had to soul to experience love _with_..."

Harry merely groaned, obviously irritated at this point.

"Well, I'm checking this out, Harry. This is too dangerous to let go."

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Rolf crossed the small clearing, heading towards the squatting figure at the edge, peering into the thick forest as though life's meaning was hidden among the trees. He coughed once, twice, and just as he was about to whack her irritably over the head with his thick willow wand, she turned slowly around and gestured for him to be quiet.

"Shhh! Look, I've found the Gystraste and it's giving birth!"

_She can't have, _thought Rolf bitterly, _I've been looking for the Gytraste for years, and I've never found it, have I? Invisible at will, it'll be pursued 'till the end of time, but never be discovered unless it wants...I had no clue this girl was studying the Gytraste, Ollivander just said it was some imaginary animal no one had ever seen. _But with disbelief, Rolf found himself leaning forward around her, for he had definitely seen something move.

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"I'm Rolf, by the way," Rolf stated as an afterthought after they had frantically taken photos of the newborn with its mother, as the babies were rumored to become invisible for their first few years of life just minuted after birth. Sure enough, no sooner had they finished putting away the camera than the baby and its mother dissipated like sand through fingers.

"Oooh, hello, I'm Luna," she said dreamily, turning around to gaze fully upon her visitor.

"Yeah, I know," said Rolf quickly, "Listen- do you know a man named Ollivander?"

"Yes, he made me this wand!" said Luna happily, and she dropped her wand in excitement.

"Yeah, well, he needs you. He wouldn't tell me why, but you need to get to Diagon Alley as soon as you can."

"Okay! I've lost my Apparation License... I got splinched, you know... not concentrating... so I guess I'll be off then... Thank you, Rolf." And with a warm smile, she marched off in the opposite direction, pet niffler at her heels, leaving all her belongings behind.

"Er, no, wait-" called Rolf behind her, regretting every word as it exited his mouth. "I'll- er- just come with you then...It's so easy to get lost in the forest..." He waved his wand, and her tent was instantly rolled up onto a fist-sized ball. He summoned the rest of her belongings while Luna gathered her pet niffler. _Why? _he thought furiously to himself. _She'd have made it, she's a naturalist after all! _But he couldn't bring himself to leave her in the forest, because, after all, she had found something he had missed, and he was curious.


	3. Chapter 3

As night began to fall, the forest's luke-warm humidity turned to a chilling drizzle, and Rolf and Luna continued to push aside and dodge dripping limbs of various foliage. Luna was chatting animatedly about the lizard they had come across an hour or so previously. Rolf had valiantly tried to pay attention through her coma-inducing chatter, but he now found his mind slipping in and out of concentration.

"...and then, wasn't that just _fascinating_ when it shot those darts from its eyes!"

Rolf grunted noncommittally and tenderly rubbed the now flaming pink puncture marks on his cheek, where the lizard, a rare species called the Xamar, had shot three poisonous projectiles. Luna had spotted it on a tree and had spent twenty minutes taking pictures of it. When Rolf had reminded her that Mr. Ollivander needed her urgently, she had reluctantly said goodbye, and patted it on the head, which scared the poor thing so much it went berserk and shot the poison darts. Rolf, recollecting these events, realized he was scowling openly, and quickly wiped it off his face- just in time, it turned out- for Luna turned to beam at him.

"...it was a simply splendid creature, wasn't it, Rolf?" _And you had to hand it to her, _thought Rolf bitterly. _She had a knack for spotting insanely rare and coveted species. _The only other time he had ever seen a Xamar was when he went camping at age 8 with his grandfather, the famous naturalist Newt Scamander. His grandfather had famous skill and knowledge of magical creatures, and could pick out a new species every time he left the house. _This girl is an idiot, though _Rolf concluded as Luna went flying after tripping on a gnarled root. A loud yawn from Luna, who dreamily dusted herself off from her fall, suddenly reminded him of his own aching hunger and dizzying fatigue.

"Let's stop here for the night," offered Rolf.

"Ah, no, it's ok...," Luna yawned again. "I... can keep going longer. Don't stop on my account,"

"No, really. I'm tired too," Rolf reassured her. "And besides, I think your, er, friend is getting a bit tired too," he added, nodding at Gerry.

Rolf sensed Luna had been waiting to stop for a while. Immediately, she sat down, flicking her wand rapidly to assemble her tent. "Come over here, Gerald," she cooed, patting the ground. Gerry tipsily toppled over, going limp the moment he reached Luna's arms. She carried him into the tent. She turned around at the door.

"Well, I'm going to bed, but there's some canned food in that bag over there... help yourself!" And with that, Luna Lovegood zipped up the tent flap door.

Rolf sat for a while, eating canned "Magically Tasty Peaches!", chewing the sweet, rubbery fruit slowly. It was a little cold outside the tent, he thought, but he didn't feel in the mood for conjuring anything. So instead, Rolf Scamander pushed aside the can of remaining peach chunks, flicked a few spiders off the dirt in front of him, and laid down to sleep.

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The woman had coarse, curly black hair that resembled a gnarled bush. Her pale bony face and sunken eyes were focused intently on a small object in her palm. She was perched precariously on a ratty grey chunk of fabric and wood that might have once been a handsome armchair. She nervously glanced around the room, which, like the chair, had seen better days. Around the edge of the room, dusty sinister objects formidably glowered at occupants, including a misshapen skull, a troll leg umbrella stand (originally a set of two, but one had been taken by her aunt), and an intricate glass vase of what had to be blood. One could tell, however, which of the ominous objects was this woman's most prized. Sitting in a golden cabinet, centered on the mantel, was a long, slender wand. The glass of the cabinet was reflective, and looked as though it had been recently cleaned. The ghost-like woman glanced from the ebony stone in her hand, pierced by a deep crack in the center, to the wand in the cabinet, and let out a sob of relief.

Bellatrix knew what the stone could do.

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When Rolf awoke the next morning, his back was sore. Worse yet, it seemed that it had rained during the night, as he and his clothes were thoroughly soaked. After sleepily crawling over to the can of peaches, he discovered with disappointment that a large pale slug had made itself at home in the tin can, looking disturbingly like all the other slices of peach.

_The Glimp, _Rolf noted out of habit. _Imitates its prey's food so the victim will eat it, die when the Glimp proves to be indigestible, and the Glimp will eat the victim from the inside out._ Rolf shuddered slightly as he prodded the slug with his index finger, and tilted the can so it slowly hit the ground with a small, wet plop. Then he promptly proceeded to stick in his hand and resume eating from the night before.

Suddenly, though, something was clamped on his stomach, and Rolf spun around instinctively, slapping at the creature. With a yelp, a poodle-sized creature released him and fell to the ground. Looking around in confusion, he recognized Gerry lying in a heap on the ground.

"Shame on you!" shouted Luna form behind him.

"Uuuh!" Rolf hadn't even realized Luna was awake. "Sorry! He just... at me... didn't know..." He winced.

"Poor Gerry..." Luna sang, gathering the niffler in her arms. "He likes buttons," she added.

"He what?"

"Likes buttons. _Hates _shiny things. I think they scare him." She said matter-of-factly, and patted him affectionately on the head.

"Er..." Rolf glanced down awkwardly at his shirt, and sure enough, the place the bottom button of his shirt usually occupied was now merely a shriveled thread poking through the fabric. A loud crunch from Gerry's general direction confirmed Luna's announcement. He, of course, had heard of nifflers having strange fetishes- for example, while studying the crowned dragon in Peru, he had witnessed an aggressive niffler steal everyone's watches as they shopped, unaware, at the town market- but people never kept these freakish nifflers as pets, let alone the sane ones. "Where _did_ you get it?" He gestured down to Gerry, who had, at this point, chewed the button, spit it out, and was trying to eat the pieces.

"_Him,_" she said pointedly. "I found him at the Knockturn Poun- Gerry! No!" Gerry was now gagging on a small chunk of plastic. He coughed it up and looked up at Rolf and Luna sheepishly. "I can't imagine why he wasn't snatched up, he's so cute..."

An awkward silence ensued, leaving Rolf to squirm while Luna stood perfectly still, apparently lost in thought.

"Er." He wasn't quite sure how to bring her back from wherever she had gone. "Shall we pack up, then?"

"Oh, yes," said Luna happily. "I'll just get the tent rolled up first..." she said, waving her wand vaguely, and her tent burst into flames. "Whoops...wait- no, that's better," she concluded as she put out the flames and rolled it up in yet another flick of her wand.


End file.
